HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care Course Syllabus Course Description This course will provide a general overview of the current issues and trends within the U.S. healthcare industry, to include the evolution of current healthcare legislation, managed care challenges, and how technology is affecting how providers practice. In addition, discussions and assignments will cover topics such as financial challenges of both patient and provider, disease management, ethical and bioethical issues, patient outcomes, and the classism of health care. Course Textbook Kominski, G. F. (2014). Changing the U.S. health care system: Key issues in health services policy and management (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Course Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: 1. Explain the social factors and patterns influencing the U.S. healthcare system, including some of the arguments for and against key health legislation. 2. Describe some of the critical issues facing the U.S. healthcare system in the 21st century, including the financial challenges of both the patient and provider. 3. Explain the factors necessary to create a more equitable healthcare system. 4. Evaluate the impact of healthcare inequities among citizen groups. 5. Explain the impact of technology on the health industry. 6. Analyze the importance of ethical leadership in any healthcare system. 7. Discuss common ethical challenges faced in the healthcare industry. 8. Explain the effect of society s health literacy on the healthcare system. 9. Explain why the use of measurements and outcomes is the best way to evaluate healthcare and patient success both now and in the future. 10. Identify all of the key stakeholders within the healthcare paradigm. Academic Integrity Honesty and integrity are taken very seriously at Waldorf University. All students should be familiar with the Waldorf University Academic Integrity Policy (found in the current Student Handbook) and the consequences that will result from breaches of this policy. Credits Upon completion of this course, the students will earn three (3) hours of college credit. Course Structure 1. Study Guide: Each unit contains a Study Guide that provides students with the learning outcomes, unit lesson, required reading assignments, and supplemental resources. 2. Learning Outcomes: Each unit contains Learning Outcomes that specify the measurable skills and knowledge students should gain upon completion of the unit. 3. Unit Lesson: Each unit contains a Unit Lesson, which discusses lesson material. 4. Reading Assignments: Each unit contains Reading Assignments from one or more chapters from the textbook. HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care 1
5. Suggested Reading: Suggested Readings are listed in each unit s study guide. Students are encouraged to read the resources listed if the opportunity arises, but they will not be tested on their knowledge of the Suggested Readings. 6. Learning Activities (Non-Graded): These non-graded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. 7. Discussion Boards: Discussion Boards are a part of all Waldorf courses. Information and specifications regarding these assignments are provided in the Course Policies listed in the Course Menu bar. 8. Unit Assessments: This course contains eight Unit Assessments, one to be completed at the end of each unit. Assessments are composed of multiple-choice questions and written response questions. 9. Unit Assignments: Students are required to submit for grading Unit Assignments in Units II, IV-VIII. Specific information and instructions regarding these assignments are provided below. Grading rubrics are included with each assignment. Specific information about accessing these rubrics is provided below. 10. Final Exam: Students are to complete a Final Exam in Unit VIII. All Final Exams are proctored- see below for additional information. You are permitted four (4) hours to complete this exam in the presence of your approved proctor. This is an open-book exam. Only course textbooks and a calculator, if necessary, are allowed when taking proctored exams. The Final Exam is composed of written response questions. 11. Ask the Professor: This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content related questions. 12. Student Break Room: This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates. Unit Assignments Unit II Essay For the Unit II Essay, you will investigate the underlying factors that lead to racial and ethnic disparities in the United States. In your essay, you will select one of the factors and explain the following: the ethnic group(s) affected by this factor, how this impacts a larger subset of society, and suggestions on how to alleviate the factor/disparity. Your essay must be at least one full page in length. You may use the textbook as a resource as well as the Waldorf Online Library and/or the Internet. However, if you choose to research using the Internet, be sure to use reliable sources. Please include an introduction and follow APA writing standards. All sources used, including the textbook, must be cited and referenced appropriately. Unit IV Scholarly Activity Using your textbook and external research, you will explain why the quality of life within the U.S. is not better than a large part of the developed world in light of the amount of money spent on health care per capita. In your research and explanation, consider other specific countries, discuss their healthcare spending/plan, and lastly, provide suggestions on how the U.S. can overcome this disparity. Your scholarly activity must be at least two full pages in length. You are required to use at least one source from the Waldorf Online Library; you may also use your textbook as an additional source. All sources used, including the textbook, must be cited and referenced appropriately. HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care 2
Unit V Scholarly Activity Using your textbook and external research, you will research the reasons why the implementation of information technology in health care and public health has been slow as compared to other industries. Why is this the case? As you research your answer, address the relative importance of factors such as financial incentives or disincentives, organizational culture, complex clinical workflows, information technology capabilities and change, and information exchange complexity. For the Unit V Scholarly Activity, you will provide an explanation of reasons why the implementation of information technology has been slow. Additionally, explain how ethical leadership could assist with this challenge. Your scholarly activity must be at least two full pages in length. You are required to use at least one source from the Waldorf Online Library; you may also use your textbook as an additional source. All sources used, including the textbook, must be cited and referenced appropriately. Unit VI Scholarly Activity Using your textbook and external research, you will select one of the ethical challenges associated with health care in the United States. Examples of ethical challenges include whether or not it is the responsibility of the U.S. to ensure medical care for all individuals and medical care for non-u.s. citizens. You may select your own topic and are not limited to these examples. For the Unit VI Scholarly Activity, you will provide an explanation of this ethical challenge and its impact on the United States. Additionally, explain how ethical leadership could assist with this challenge. Your scholarly activity must be at least two full pages in length. You are required to use at least one source from the Waldorf Online Library; you may also use your textbook as an additional source. All sources used, including the textbook, must be cited and referenced appropriately. Unit VII Scholarly Activity Using your textbook and external research, describe the changes that are expected to occur in U.S. demographics over the next 30 years. For the Unit VII Scholarly Activity, you will provide an explanation of the changes in demographics. Within your explanation, include the ways these changes might impact long-term care. What do you believe the U.S. should do to prepare for these changes? Your scholarly activity must be at least two full pages in length. You are required to use at least one source from the Waldorf Online Library; you may also use your textbook as an additional source. All sources used, including the textbook, must be cited and referenced appropriately. Unit VIII PowerPoint Presentation For the Unit VIII PowerPoint presentation, you will explain one aspect of the U.S. healthcare system. Specifically, you should provide a detailed presentation on one topic of health care discussed and studied within this course. You are welcome to include information that you learned through this course in your presentation, but you are required to use at least one outside source to support your information. Your source may be your textbook, an article from the Waldorf Online Library, or a reliable source from the Internet. You may select a topic that interests you or that you would like to study further. Some topic ideas include: What drives health care costs Causes of inequalities within health care Ways to overcome inequalities within health care HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care 3
The role of Medicaid Health care reform Comparisons of health care between the U.S. and other nations. The presentation should be a minimum of 10 PowerPoint slides (not including title and reference slides). Appropriate and relevant images may be used, but they must be used wisely and sparingly. Slides and design must be professional. Animation is not required. You are not limited to the above topics; choose a topic that interests you, even if it may be controversial. The presentation should be informational and thought-provoking and therefore provide the viewer/audience with a researched perspective of the topic. Submitting Course Papers/Projects Once you have completed your papers/projects, submit your completed papers/projects by uploading through the Assignment tab in each unit. Do not e-mail your paper directly to your professor. By using the Assignment tab, your record will automatically be updated to indicate you have submitted your papers/projects and the assignment will be provided to your professor for grading. Instructions for submitting your assignment can be found under the Assignment tab in each unit. APA Guidelines Waldorf University requires that students use APA style for papers and projects. Therefore, the APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. Students can find Waldorf s Citation Guide in the mywaldorf Student Portal by clicking on the Citation Guide link under the Resources heading. This document includes examples and sample papers. Grading Rubrics This course utilizes analytic grading rubrics as tools for your professor in assigning grades for all learning activities. Each rubric serves as a guide that communicates the expectations of the learning activity and describes the criteria for each level of achievement. In addition, a rubric is a reference tool that lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your efforts to meet the requirements of that learning activity. It is imperative for you to familiarize yourself with these rubrics because these are the primary tools your professor uses for assessing learning activities. Rubric categories include: (1) Discussion Board, (2) Assessment (Written Response), and (3) Assignment. However, it is possible that not all of the listed rubric types will be used in a single course (e.g., some courses may not have Assessments). The Discussion Board rubric can be found within Unit I s Discussion Board submission instructions. The Assessment (Written Response) rubric can be found embedded in a link within the directions for each Unit Assessment. However, these rubrics will only be used when written-response questions appear within the Assessment. Each Assignment type (e.g., article critique, case study, research paper) will have its own rubric. The Assignment rubrics are built into Blackboard, allowing students to review them prior to beginning the Assignment and again once the Assignment has been scored. This rubric can be accessed via the Assignment link located within the unit where it is to be submitted. Students may also access the rubric through the course menu by selecting the Grades link. Again, it is vitally important for you to become familiar with these rubrics because their application to your Discussion Boards, Assessments, and Assignments is the method by which your instructor assigns all grades. HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care 4
Final Exam Guidelines Proctored Final Exams are taken online. Final Exams are to be administered to students by an approved proctor on a date that is mutually convenient. The student is responsible for selecting a qualified proctor that must be approved by the College. To view a list of acceptable proctor qualifications, see the Proctor Agreement form. The Proctor Agreement form is located in the Online Forms, Courses page of the mywaldorf Student Portal. To request your proctored final exam and/or review the complete Examination Proctor Policy and Proctor Agreement, submit the Request, go to the Request to take Final Exam Online (Online Exam) form. The Request to take Final Exam Online (Online Exam) form is located in the Online Forms, Courses page of the mywaldorf Student Portal. Reminder: The Final Exam is due by of Unit VIII. Any student who does not take the Final Exam by the end of the term will automatically fail the entire course. Communication Forums These are non-graded discussion forums that allow you to communicate with your professor and other students. Participation in these discussion forums is encouraged, but not required. You can access these forums with the buttons in the Course Menu. Instructions for subscribing/unsubscribing to these forums are provided below. Click here for instructions on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and post to the Communication Forums. Ask the Professor This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content questions. Questions may focus on Blackboard locations of online course components, textbook or course content elaboration, additional guidance on assessment requirements, or general advice from other students. Questions that are specific in nature, such as inquiries regarding assessment/assignment grades or personal accommodation requests, are NOT to be posted on this forum. If you have questions, comments, or concerns of a nonpublic nature, please feel free to email your professor. Responses to your post will be addressed or emailed by the professor within 48 hours. Before posting, please ensure that you have read all relevant course documentation, including the syllabus, assessment/assignment instructions, faculty feedback, and other important information. Student Break Room This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates. Communication on this forum should always maintain a standard of appropriateness and respect for your fellow classmates. This forum should NOT be used to share assessment answers. Grading Discussion Boards (8 @ 2%) = 16% Assessments (7 @ 3%) = 21% Unit II Essay = 9% Scholarly Activity (4 @ 8%) = 32% Unit VIII PowerPoint Presentation = 9% Final Exam = 13% Total = 100% HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care 5
Course Schedule/Checklist (PLEASE PRINT) The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to assist you through this course. By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted. HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care 6
HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care Course Schedule By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted. Please keep this schedule for reference as you progress through your course. Unit I U.S. Health Care in the 21st Century Chapter 1: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 Chapter 2: Improving Access to Care Assessment by Unit II Access and Literacy Chapter 3: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Status Chapter 4: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care Assessment by Essay by Proctor Approval Form HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care 7
HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care Unit III Course Schedule The Profession of Health Care in the U.S. Chapter 6: Public Health Insurance Chapter 7: Private Health Insurance Assessment by Unit IV Quality in Patient Care Chapter 11: Measuring Health-Related Quality of Life and Other Outcomes Chapter 12: Evaluating the Quality of Care Assessment by Scholarly Activity by HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care 8
HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care Unit V Course Schedule Information Systems in Health Care Chapter 8: Measuring Health Care Expenditures and Trends Chapter 14: Health Care Information Systems Assessment by Scholarly Activity by Unit VI Ethics Chapter 23: Strengthening the Safety Net Chapter 24: Ethical Issues in Public Health and Health Services Assessment by Scholarly Activity by HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care 9
HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care Unit VII Course Schedule Long-Term Care Chapter 16: Long-Term Services and Supports for the Elderly Population Assessment by Scholarly Activity by Request to take Final Exam Unit VIII Stakeholders Chapter 20: Changing the Health Care Delivery System PowerPoint Presentation by Final Exam by HCM 3801, Issues and Trends in Health Care 10